He wasn't dubbed 'the supreme master of minimalism' for nothing, you know...
It’s Calvin Klein’s big day today and we couldn’t think of a better excuse to celebrate six decades of the iconic American designer at work.
We can’t believe it was way back in 1968 that Calvin, then a young suit apprentice from the Bronx, opened his own company. He was immediately hailed as 'the new Yves Saint Laurent' after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week.
Fast forward to 2014 and Calvin Klein still dominates the red carpet with his clean lines and classic colours. It doesn’t take an expert to figure out why…but we gave it a go anyway. Indulge us.
Here are just a few reasons we love Calvin…
Less Is More
Calvin wasn’t dubbed ‘the supreme master of minimalism’ for nothing. Clean lines and neutral colours have always been at the heart of the label’s design, representing a classic all-American look that utterly captured the ‘90s. Neutral slips, denim and Kate Moss’s waifish figure became key to Calvin Klein’s identity. Desirable yet workable, his simple aesthetic was something we could pull off at work and after hours…and still can…
Sportswear? Sports Luxe
Without the likes of Calvin Klein there would be no sports luxe, as we know it, on the high street. Inspired by the athletic haute couture of Coco Chanel, sportswear was modernized for a whole new generation alongside Ralph Lauren. Ranging from catwalk to high-street items, Klein’s American woman owed a great deal to her Roaring Twenties’ counterpart who worked and played hard.
Two Words: Marky Mark
Oh Mark, where do we begin? In 1992, billboards of Mark Wahlberg in his CK underpants not only caused a stir: it probably instigated a few car collisions. Nicknamed ‘calvins’ these boxer briefs – a mix of boxer shorts and briefs, geddit? – soon became an international phenomenon. Kate Moss would later reveal she had a breakdown after straddling Mark topless in a series of advertisements. The controversy, both then and now, only adds to our fascination with this enduring line of underwear.
The Jean Genie
In the mid-70s Calvin made history when he put his name on the back pocket of his jeans. Shoppers couldn’t snap them up quick enough: in 1978, 200,000 pairs were sold in their first week of sale. That’s a LOT of denim. The jeans were famously modeled by then-15-year-old Brooke Shields revealing: ‘Nothing comes between me and my Calvins’. The woman doesn’t lie: this week Brooke admitted she still owns her pair although ‘I have to lie on my bed to get them on.’
Scent Of A Woman...Or A Man
Having won awards for his Eternity perfume in 1989, the pressure was on. Suffice to say that there was only one fragrance worth anyone’s investment in 1994 and it was CK One. In fact, Calvin Klein’s first unisex fragrance became a global phenomenon. Designed for men and women to share, it tapped brilliantly into the Klein ethos.